Briggs & Stratton’s Regeneration System Generates Power Instead of Heat

Briggs & Stratton was spending over $1 million in fuel costs alone to run engine endurance tests in its labs, so in order to cut costs and realize the power wasted in heat from existing dynamometers, the company worked with an automation vendor to develop a new power regeneration system. The new system helped Briggs & Stratton win two honors for sustainability, and the 556,000 kWh expected output could power 48 homes each year.

Daily, around the clock, the buzz of small engines fills the reliability laboratory inside Briggs & Stratton’s main plant near Milwaukee, Wis. Employees monitor the prototype and modified engines to meet the exacting standards set by one of the largest producers of lawn mowers, snowblowers and other outdoor power equipment.